NCC Group Maps Source of Global Hack Attempts During Q1

Using data collected from DShield, a community based log correlation system that collects data from sensors covering more than 500,000 IP addresses in over 50 countries, the NCC Group has mapped out its latest report on the origination of computer hacking attempts for the first quarter of 2012.

For the first time, the UK made an appearance in the top ten, while percentage of hacking attempts coming from Russia and the Netherlands also jumped.

The stats, based on intrusion detection logs monitored by DSHield, count unauthorized attempts to networks, and don’t actually represent “successful” hacks or intrusions. Additionally, while the statistics attempt to show the source of attacks, they can be easily routed through IP addresses in different countries, making sources misrepresented.

Overall, NCC noted that the top ten has changed significantly since its previous report just three months ago. Italy, France and India dropped of the top ten list, while the Ukraine in 5th, South Korea in 9th and the UK worked their way onto the list.

Additionally, Russia showed a large increase, with over 12% of global hacks originating from the country, putting it in third place, behind the United States and China. Notably, there was also a rise in hacks appearing to originate from the Netherlands, up from 3.1% to over 11%, moving it into 4th place in the hacking chart.

“Cyber crime is perpetually evolving - the dramatic increase of hacks from certain countries over a three month period just goes to show the fluidity and quick-changing nature of the issue,” said Rob Cotton, NCC Group’s chief executive. “Because cyber crime develops and alters on a daily basis, so too must the counter-measures. We need greater agility and collaboration on an international scale.”

For more than 10 years, Mike Lennon has been closely monitoring and analyzing trends in the enterprise IT security space and the threat landscape. In his role at SecurityWeek he oversees the editorial direction of the publication and manages several leading security conferences.